


illusions of the moon

by lunarmage



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Arguing, Broken Promises, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Book: Through the Moon (The Dragon Prince), Rayllum, THROUGH THE MOON SPOILERS, Theories, i actually don’t know if viren dies yet, we’ll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 13:48:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30090030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarmage/pseuds/lunarmage
Summary: “white lies are illusions you build with your words to protect the hearts of those you love. i’m sorry, you can’t come with me.”
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 9





	1. white lies

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is very “through the moon” heavy!! please read the novel before reading this to avoid confusion + spoilers <3

the moonlight cast a shadow over the young elf as she prepared her belongings. callum slept peacefully in his bed, just as she’d planned. she set out into the night with one goal: find viren. what happened to her in the process didn’t matter to her, so long as he didn’t pose a threat any longer. she wasn’t expecting what happened next.


	2. illusion

callum sighed. it wasn’t long after he and rayla had promised they’d leave in the morning to find viren. shortly after, they’d went to bed. but deep down, callum knew rayla would leave without him. it was in her nature, he’d realized after awhile, that she’d rather do things alone and not risk losing those whom she loves. despite their promise, callum knew she’d leave. it’s just who she is. 

carefully, he stepped out of bed, so as not to disturb his sleeping girlfriend. he slowly made his way to lujanne’s room. luckily, she was meditating and not sleeping quite yet. 

as soon as she heard the door open, she breathed an irritated sigh and turned to face him.

“what now? come to apologize for going against my instructions, i hope?”

he laughed awkwardly. “right, right. sorry about that. but.. we found some valuable intel from that.”

“oh?”

“it’s.. viren. rayla saw him. he’s alive. last night we promised we’d go together to find him, but..”

“but?”

“i know rayla. even if she makes promises, she’s scared i’ll get hurt. her promise was half hearted, i can tell she’s planning on leaving without me. it’s who she is.”

“so.. what do you want me to do, exactly? and what happens if you’re wrong?”

“ideally, i am wrong. but.. i can’t be certain i am. this is precautionary. if i’m wrong, i’ll come up with an excuse. though i’m sure rayla won’t be able to see through this.”

“so what exactly do you need from me?” she continued.

“i need an illusion.”

“an illusion? what kind?”

“remember when we tricked claudia and soren into thinking they’d captured us? i need you to make an illusion of me again.”

“but rayla’s a smart girl, isn’t she? wont she be able to tell something isn’t right?”

“solidify the illusion.”

lujanne paused.

“look, i’m really hoping i’m wrong about this, but something is telling me i’m not. and if i know rayla, she’s going to leave without me.”

“but what exactly makes you say that, callum..?”

“rayla doesn’t like help when it comes to battle. that’s why she wanted to stay and fight viren’s army alone- not just because she felt as if she needed to pay her parent’s price, but also to protect me. and that’s why, now, she doesn’t want viren to hurt me. i just.. have a feeling. if i’m wrong, that’s ideal, but...”

“i see. i’ll help you, but we’ll have to be quiet. and quick.”

“no worries. rayla’s a heavy sleeper.”

“and... lujanne?”

“hm?”

“are you sure the rayla i saw sleeping isn’t an illusion? she isn’t already after viren, is she?”

“well, she can’t exactly make an illusion herself, and i didn’t make her one. you have my word on that.”

“okay. then we’d better hurry before rayla wakes up.”


	3. broken promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> uh oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi quick notice <3
> 
> i apologize if my grammar sucks lol!!! i’m autistic and i don’t really take the time to double check my stuff. i do prefer not to have an editor however because i’m not an author, i just make fanfics! i don’t really mind grammar mistakes as long as my point gets across ya know? 
> 
> and also!! this fic is dialogue heavy bc it’s meant to be read like a graphic novel or a comic book :) pretend each part has a separate panel and the dialogue is within speech bubbles! that’s how intended this to be interpreted ❤️❗️

everything was set. the illusion was made, and rayla was still fast asleep. sneakily, callum prepared a bag of his own belongings, taking care he packed everything they’d both need. then, he carefully snuck outside and hid in a bush. he made sure to keep quiet, taking care to cover his mouth with his hands despite the cold. 

after awhile, the door cracked open, and rayla slipped out. callum lowered himself deeper into the bush so he was more well hidden, making sure rayla wasn’t within earshot to hear the rustling. 

thankfully, she didn’t suspect much. she glanced at the bush for a brief moment and then moved on, her pace quickening as the moonlight gleamed in the night sky. dawn would arrive sooner than she’d like. 

to further avoid rayla’s suspicions, callum waited a bit before following rayla- as lujanne had suggested. since rayla’s very good at catching onto schemes, surely she’d suspect callum following her directly after she’d left. 

once her figure had begun to fade, just barely, callum followed. he wanted to make it seem as though she was alone, lest she’d start to question him if he just tagged along. 

hours passed. callum was still hot on her trail. any time she got suspicious, he would hide. it certainly wasn’t easy- considering her sharp instincts, but he managed.

after quite some time, however... there was an irregular pattern in her steps. 

she paused more frequently, checking behind her and stopping.

he’d been caught. 

“who’s there?” rayla shouted, her voice still barely above a whisper as she did so, as if the question was more for herself than whoever she was speaking to.

awkwardly, callum stepped out from where was hiding. it’d be useless to keep trying. 

“callum? what are you d..”

“i thought you said we were going together.”

“i-“

“rayla, you LIED to me! i was really hoping i wouldn’t have to use that illusion, but i guess you proved my speculation.” 

“i can’t risk you getting hurt again, callum. it’s happened enough.”

“but what about you?! not once have i heard you say something that would be beneficial to your safety when it comes to this. what about you, rayla? is this another act of pride?”

“it’s not pride! it never was! i just want to protect you, callum. viren’s already took everyone i love except YOU. i’d rather something happen to me than to you.” 

“that’s exactly what you said before we fought viren’s army. you don’t care what happens to you, do you?”

“as long as your safe, that’s all that matters to me.”

“rayla, you’re being irrational. you can’t just jump into things! you can’t face viren on your own, he could kill you. he’s gonna have a plan, and he has claudia. at this point, she’s more advanced in dark magic than i’ve ever seen her. she’s dangerous. you can’t face them alone.”

“i’m a trained assassin. you act as if this is my first time fighting someone.”

“but you’ve never killed anyone before, and taking on enemies this powerful without help...”

“look, callum, i know you wanna help me. but i cant risk losing you. this is for your own good.”

“wh..?”

“phoe-phoe! the rope!”

callum’s eyes widened as the small pheonix broke the rope with her beak, lifting callum into a trap- one which he couldn’t easily escape from. 

“rayla, think about this.” he pleaded, squirming in the net. 

“i already have.” she conceded. “i’m not putting you in danger. i’m sorry, callum.”

and just like that, there was nothing more he could say. no matter how much he wanted to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also my caps lock is off for my phone (which is what i use to write) so everything i write will be lowercased! i much prefer it this way but i apologize if it bothers anyone :)
> 
> /gen


	4. wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so i actually don’t know how the history spell works so bare w me
> 
> let’s just say this is the power of imagination lmao

weeks had passed since rayla had left. callum had, fortunately, found a way to escape the net. but rayla’s tracks disappeared the more he tried to track her. and soon enough, callum found himself at a loss. she took great care to cover up her tracks, and no matter how many restless nights callum spent trying to find her, he found himself right back where he started.

“i’m so sorry, callum..” lujanne had said. “i had no idea what she was planning.”

“it’s not your fault. i shouldn’t have underestimated her, that’s all.” he sighed, staring up  
at the leaves in the tree above him. ezran sat close by, tapping his foot anxiously. 

“you know... claudia left her spellbook behind.” callum began.

“callum, no. last time that happened, you almost died.”

“i know ez, but somehow, claudia managed to track us when we were in xadia. maybe... i can find the spell she used and track rayla.”

“i thought you promised rayla you wouldn’t use dark magic anymore.”

“and i thought we promised we’d leave to find viren together. but here we are.” he grumbled. 

callum picked at the grass with his fingers.

“besides..” he began. “when i used dark magic the last time, i learned the sky arcanum. maybe... i can learn more this time?”

“and what if you don’t...?” ezran glanced away. “what if something happens to you? i know you wanna help rayla, but this is too dangerous.”

he sighed. “then how else are we supposed to find her?”

“she’s looking for viren, isn’t she? wouldn’t she start looking where the battle happened?”

callum stood up. “wait. maybe...” 

he began to make his way to lujanne.

“lujanne, do you have something i can draw with?”

she raised an eyebrow. “yes... uh, it’s paint though...”

“that’s exactly what i need.”

the runes weren’t as easy to remember as they were before, but having a moonmage who knows more than you do comes in handy. 

“alright. here goes nothing.”

he inhaled, letting the wind speak first. 

“manus. pluma. volantus.” 

a moment passed before dark brown wings emerged from his arms.

“ezran, you stay here with zym and bait. lujanne, if anything happens to me... take care of  
them, okay?”

“stay safe, young mage. return safe.”

he nodded, letting his wings lift him into the air.

____

unfortunately, traveling by wing wasn’t much faster than traveling by foot. the young prince was still getting the hang of flying, and found himself lower to the ground than he’d anticipated. 

thankfully, he had no trouble flying over the midnight desert. the real trouble began when he reached the battlefield.

all the tracks were blended together. it was impossible to tell  
which ones were rayla’s.

and then...

a moon opal fell from his pocket. 

“that’s right...! i still have a few more of these...” with a deep inhale, callum recited the words.

“historia viventum!!”

glancing around, he could see her illuminated shadow. 

“so that’s where she went...” 

taking a deep breath, he prepared to follow.


End file.
